Pure Michigan wins more advertising awards than any other state at national tourism conference

View full sizeTravel MichiganPure Michigan received more honors than any other state in this yearâs Mercury Awards from the U.S. Travel Association and the National Council of State Tourism Directors.

LANSING, MI —Pure Michigan is one of the best state tourism advertising campaigns in the country.

It received more honors than any other state in this year’s Mercury Awards from the U.S. Travel Association and the National Council of State Tourism Directors.

Pure Michigan won top awards for its state tourism television and radio advertising, social media presence, partnership advertising program and public relations effort.

Michigan won five out of the 12 categories, while no other state won more than one. Idaho won for the best overall program.

“It has been exciting to see the growth of Pure Michigan and the tremendous response it has received from our peers within the tourism industry,” George Zimmermann, vice president for Travel Michigan, said in a statement. “But even more important than awards is the number of visitors the campaign has brought to Michigan, visitors who spend money at Michigan businesses, creating jobs for Michiganders and generating state and local tax revenue.”

Travel Michigan is the state’s tourism department within the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

The Pure Michigan budget will remain at $25 million for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

The highly popular program was credited, in part, for a $2 billion increase in tourism spending in 2010.